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Carolina Panthers offensive lineman Cade Mays reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Green Bay Packers.
In December, the New York Jets signed starting center Josh Myers to a contract extension.
Months later, the green and white are predicted to replace him.
Insider Greg Auman of NFL on FOX predicted that the Jets will sign Carolina Panthers offensive lineman Cade Mays in free agency.
“Mays, 26, settled in with 12 starts in 2025, after totaling 15 in his first three years in Carolina. The Panthers are already heavily invested at guard, so if his market gets as high as some are projecting — $10-12 million a year — then Carolina might reset with a rookie at center and focus their limited cap space elsewhere. This year’s center class in free agency has a lot of good-not-great options, so finding the right match in that middle-tier financial range will be important,” Auman explained.
Pulling the Rug Out
If the Jets pull this off, it shouldn’t be that surprising.
When Myers inked his two-year, $11 million contract extension, folks immediately noted the specific details of the deal. That $5.5 million annual salary placed Myers 13th among the highest-paid centers in the NFL, per Over The Cap.
NFL analyst Will Parkinson wrote, “One of those moves where you can still upgrade if you wanted too in FA or the draft and he at worst provides great depth, and can obviously be a starter for you as well. Nice work imo.”
It provided the Jets with a fallback option. If the team couldn’t find an upgrade this offseason, the Jets could roll with Myers in 2026.
They did that successfully during the 2025 season. Myers started all 17 games for the Jets at center last year.
While he was available, Myers wasn’t great for the Jets. According to Pro Football Focus, Myers finished the season with a 52.9 overall grade, a 51.7 run block grade, and a 62.9 pass block grade.
Those grades ranked 39th, 38th, and 24th among 40 qualified centers in 2025.
An Intriguing Upgrade for the Jets
Mays, 26, will turn 27 before the start of the 2026 season. He entered the league as the No. 199 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
The majority of his career has been spent with the Panthers, sans a month with the New York Giants in September of 2024.
Across his four years in the league, Mays has appeared in 52 games and has made 27 starts. He started as a primary backup, but he has developed into a full-time starter.
Mays finished last season with a better PFF grade in every category compared to Myers.
He had a 62.4 overall grade, a 58.4 run block grade, and a 69.4 pass block grade in 2025. Those grades ranked 24th, 33rd, and 13th among 40 qualified centers last season.
According to Spotrac’s calculated market value, Mays is expected to command a three-year $36.78 million contract in free agency. That $12.3 million annual salary would rank fifth among the highest-paid centers in the league, per Over The Cap.
This potential signing would give the Jets an upgrade at center. It would also simultaneously improve the depth of the Jets’ O-Line.
Myers has 73 games of starting experience and has been a starting center for multiple playoff teams with the Green Bay Packers. Most teams don’t have that from a starter, let alone a potential sixth man off the bench.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
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